Love Lies Bleeding
by Bramblelegs747
Summary: A plague. A burden on the world. What a way to be living life. Keres is a young prodigy, with a goal to make the world remember her. Known as a demon, gifted with the art of torture. She has become the very darkness in the night. She has been hunting the chance of becoming apart of the Akatsuki. And has been given a chance to prove herself. (Itachi Uchiha x OC)
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note:**

**Love Lies Bleeding is 1/4th of four different individual stories that will be going on at the same time, and interact with each other. If you want to know the full story, and understand everything that is going on in my twist to the Naruto and Naruto S universe, i suggest you read all 4. The main plot will follow the canon Naruto storylines for Naruto and Naruto S, however my writings will be on a minor plot that will happen during the canonical story. If i have to change anything from the canon or if i add anything in, it is my own choice. **

**The Way Back Home is a Kakashi Hatake x OC story.  
Love and Sarcasm is a Sasuke Uchiha x OC story.  
****and A Dangerous Secret is a Deidara x OC story.**

**I will be attempted to update each of these stories at least once every 2 weeks. **

**As always, i don't own any of the Naruto characters.  
I will only claim rights to my own original characters.  
You are not welcome to copying any of my OCs, and if you do want them to appear in one of your stories then please contact me first. **

**Please leave a review! :)**

**Enjoy~**

**09/07/2014**

**(Also, if anyone sees a spelling or grammar error, tell me. Because i don't have a beta reader, and i have a habit of not really editing well :/ )**

* * *

Its been almost four years since her departure from the hidden leaf village, and in that time Keres has seen the world and encountered many different things in such a short time. It feels strange to her, to be so close to a home she had chosen to leave behind. A crisp wind blew from the west, rustling the crops of an abandoned farm where Keres could be found waiting atop a slowly decaying barn. The skies were a dark grey, foretelling the promise of rain. Strangely, the common humidness to the land of Fire had been lost to instead give an almost sharp cold.

Dressed in black, Keres blended into the grey landscape as she waited. For the past four years Keres has lead a solitary life; she worked alone as a mercenary, and she lived alone. Her only companion happened to be her summon, a dire wolf- the summon of her people, the Lotus clan. Zel, was given to her as a pup, and they grew up together as partners. The dire wolf is a much larger breed of canine; standing to the height of her waist, and has paws the size of a bears. All dire wolves inherit the eerie glowing green eyes that so sets them apart from their kin. The only unfortunate thing about the dire wolf is that they are a dying race, no more pups have been born for almost a decade, within the next few generations they will die out and the Lotus people will lose one of their most iconic symbols.

In her hands, Keres stroked the blade of her most favorite weapon. An elegant dagger, with a bright silver blade and a beautiful black grip with an ivory engraving of her clans symbol. The Lotus clan is often said to be deadly, for most of its people are mercenaries, and their leader is appointed off of how many people they have killed- but they are also a clan of incredible talent.

They are considered to be some of the best craftsmen in all the shinobi world- some would kill to have one of their finely crafted swords or daggers. Perhaps what makes their work so desirable is the resilience of their weapons, a blade could be passed down from generation to generation and never lose its sharpness. But the only way to gain one of these is if they are considered worthy in the eyes of the clans leader- one cannot simply purchase a blade, it must be earned.

And within her past 4 years, Keres has proven herself to be more than worthy. She is the definition of deadly. Anyone of her foes will fall to her lethal skill with her blade. Some have nicknamed her to be a demon, someone so inhuman that some do not even speak her name.

Of course the Leaf village has tried to hunt her down, she is a missing-nin after all. She is the Leaf's responsibility, in the eyes of all the other villages she is a fugitive that the Leaf cannot handle. Keres is even listed in the bingo book as a 'kill on sight' individual. But the challenge is even getting close enough to her to actually even harm her.

In the Bingo book she is described to be mentally unstable, often going into fits of anger and rage. In many cases she is uncontrollable, and the best option is simply to get as far away from her as possible. Many villages would rather they just wait out her life span till she dies, rather than risk their own good shinobi to go after some other villages missing-nin.

As Keres sat atop the roof of the barn her sharp eyes scanned the landscape. She had received word from the leader of the Akatsuki- some man only named Pein- that she was to meet two of it's members to be escorted to their base of operations. As far as she understood she would not be a member of the 10, but she would be a supporting member. Mostly to go out an do their missions and earn money for the organization. That was really fine with her. Just being an affliate of the Akatsuki put her in a position of power and opportunity.

It felt strange for her to be so close to the village that had adopted her. Her parents, just as pretty much every other apart of the Lotus clan, were mercenaries. They had been a moving family, never in one place for much longer than a few months. Keres had been barely even 8 years old when she had returned to her parents cottage from playing in the forest to find ANBU shinobi dragging her mothers bloodied dead body out from the front door.

Keres couldn't remember if the ANBU shinobi had said anything to her, because within a matter of seconds they were all on the ground bleeding out. She has absolutely no memory of what happened, only that she was filled with rage and her hands did what was natural. She ended up finding herself alone in the dense forest of the Land of Fire crying over the bodies of her mother and father.

It wasn't too long after that she had wandered through the forests to be found by a man wearing a silver headband with the engraving of a leaf. He had reminded Keres of her father and had gone with him willingly to the Hidden Leaf village. There she was sent to the academy where she was taught the basics of ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu. She had remained solitary throughout it all, and had graduated the following year. She was then put on a genin team with her sensei being the same man who had found her wandering. She learned that his name was Hirokaza Inoichi. She and her two teammates; Takeo, and Chouga worked together to develop their skills.

Takeo was particularly good at genjutsu and ninjutsu. His weapon of choice had also bee a sword he carried on his back. While Chouga was more interested in medical ninjutsu. Keres had very quickly developed her skills in ninjutsu; eventually learning that she was gifted with the control of not one or two, but four of the chakra nature types; fire, earth, water and lightning. She was automatically looked at to be a prodigy and for the years following the village officials would have a constant watch on her.

Keres felt like the only person she was close to in the entire village was her sensei, Hirokaza. On a regular day, Keres could be found training in the most secluded of grounds; not many people knew about a quiet clearing that had almost been overgrown by the dense forest. Inside the trees one could find a spacious ground with room for sparring, and all types of training. Some days Hirokaza would sit up in one of the branches of one of the trees to sit back and rotate between reading his book and watch her practices.

Hirokaza knew that aside from her amazing gift to control four chakra natures, there laid a darkness in her. Something about her left her teammates unnerved and wary of her. Chouga refused to spar against her, and Takeo regardless of however hard he tried to get to know her he would forever fail. During a sparring match between Keres and Takeo she had gone into her first fit of demented anger. It was meant to be a simple practice in taijutsu and had begun it all by saying that he wanted to see everything that Keres could do. He didn't want her to hold back. She of course didn't stand down from the challenge.

During their match Hirokaza could remember how Keres had smoothly danced with her sword as she and Takeo were locked in a battle. Chouga had at that time leaned over and whispered to him that "It doesn't even look like Keres is trying..." When Takeo had the chance he switched to his ninjutsu technique of utilizing fire style. The events following that surprised Hirokaza more than anything else. Suddenly Keres was fighting differently, her movement was just as smooth but her blows to Takeo were getting more and more violent. She was frequently switching between her chakra natures until she actually allowed herself to be hit by a blast of fire, only to dash to Takeo's side to place her hand upon his exposed arm. He immediately fell to the ground in agony. He screamed saying that he could feel his arm burning, and seconds later Keres collapsed to the ground unconscious. This was the first time that Keres used her kekkei genkai.

The years following the three genin became chuunin, then they all became jonin. When it came time for the team to break up Chouga went to work in the hospital, and Takeo joined the ANBU Black Ops. Hirokaza decided that he was going to go into retirement a little earlier than expected after a mission that permanently damaged his left arm and right ankle. Keres was frequently detained to the village and when she wasn't training at her usual place, she could be found in the archive building.

Together, Keres and Hirokaza read together in the archive building. Kerres read through all sorts of texts, some decades and even centuries old. However she took a keen interest in the village conspiracies, she read through many of the documents and reports regarding the Uchiha massacre. Hirokaza read about Konoha and it's part in some of the previous wars and country politics. They were alone in doing so and because of this Keres began to open up to her sensei. She told him about her parents, and why she feels so empty on the inside. She spoke of the ease that comes from fighting and how her body just fights naturally. She told him her goal- to do something meaningful, to be remembered and make a difference.

The entire time he gave Keres his undivided attention. He very quickly learned that there is far more to her than just this seemingly dark and dangerous young girl. There was absolutely no doubt that she is a prodigy and could potentially be the greatest strength or greatest fault to Konoha. But Hirokaza had all the faith in the world for his young student.

The night that Keres left the village it was her 18th birthday. She armed herself with all the weapons she could carry and a small pack of rations, clothing and whatever money she had saved from her previous missions. She also wrote a letter to her sensei telling him thanks for all his teaching, and his patience with her. Hirokaza knew that she would never say it out loud, but he knew that he was the only person that she would ever trust, and he considered himself lucky.

As the wind blew it made Keres's long brown hair ruffle; if anyone were to look upon her from a distance they would surely have seen a wild creature and not a human being. Her eyes scanned the landscape as she waited, when suddenly she felt an immense shift in the feeling of the chakra around her. And only seconds later she watched as a pair, dressed in black cloaks with red clouds stitched to its outside walked down the path leading to her perch atop the decaying barn. Keres then jumped down from the roof and sheathed her dagger on her hip and walked to meet the pair.

As she neared the pair Keres began to study her two escorts. There was a taller one, possibly almost seven feet with blue skin and shark like features; complete with sharp pointed teeth, possibly gills on the sides of his neck and eerie silver eyes. To say the least, Keres was mildly shocked to see someone with blue skin... after all, it is odd- even the most experienced of people would treat this as a rare occasion. As she studied the blue creature further she noticed the large great sword on his back and strangely wrapped in bandages. Aside from his strange exterior he seemed to just swell a massive amount of chakra. It felt like it was radiating off of the man-shark. He's quite obviously a very powerful shinobi.

The second wearing the black and red cloak was a man much shorter than his partner, but Keres could feel the darkness to his chakra. It felt somehow so much more intimidating that just the overwhelming strength of his partner. This one is powerful in a much more skilled and deadly way. He stood at a height of about 5'10, and his long black hair draped down in bangs to frame his thin face. The man could be described as having aristocratic features, as seen from his high cheek bones and long sharp nose. When Keres looked to his eyes she was struck by the sheer hardness to his black eyes, and in that moment she knew exactly who he was- Itachi Uchiha.

When the pair and Keres met half way no one extended their hand in welcome, instead it looked like the blue creature was itching for a fight, and the shorter Uchiha kept his gaze fixed on her.

"You are the one named Keres Lotus, correct?" The Uchiha spoke, his voice sounded particularly regal to Keres's ears; the best way to describe it was that it was deep, but not overly so. And when the words rolled off his tongue they sounded calm. But they left an eerie feeling of danger.

Keres would never admit, neither to herself or another person; but deep down she knew that her best choice would be to not ever get into a fight with this man. It could very well end up being the death of her.

"Yes. And you are the Akatsuki?" she replied, and crossed her arms over her chest not even budging under the intense eyes of both the Uchiha and the shark creature.

"This is Kisame Hoshigaki." the Uchiha motioned to his partner. "And I am Itachi Uchiha. We'll be your escorts to the main establishment in Amegakure."

Keres nodded, finally she got an understanding of how far away the hideout, it would take up maybe two or three days to make it to the land of Rain. However, the weather didn't seem to favor our trip. The sky had somehow gotten even darker, and now Keres could even smell the rain sure to come. The unnatural coldness to the air threatened to send a shiver down Keres's spine, so she resulted to zipping up her own long black cloak to try and conserve heat.

"Great, lead the way."

The pair turned to begin their walk once more. Itachi and the shark walked with an even stride while Keres walked more to the right of Itachi, giving some space between them. They walked in silence for some time in silence. It felt like the shark was just itching to say something to strike up a conversation- until he finally did.

"So Missy, how old are you anyways? You seem a little young to be out here all on your own." The shark taunted with a smirk.

Keres turned her hard gaze to the blue man and kept an emotionless exterior. "I wasn't aware age mattered when it came to wether or not I could do my job."

"This one is prickly- eh, Itachi?" the shark let out a little chuckle of amusement.

Itachi didn't say anything.

"Anyways, you're from the Leaf village right?" Kisame smirked. "Looks like you've already got 2 things in common with Itachi here- you're prickly and you're both from that village."

Of course Keres already knew who Itachi Uchiha was. After all, he was part of the reason why she left that village. In her time reading in the archive building she had spent much of her time reading about the history of the Uchiha and the Senju clans that had initially built this village and all the way up to the massacre that lead to all their deaths. That is, all the deaths except for one- Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha. In all her time being detained to the village walls she had seen the young boy around. He was popular and smart, according to the rumors. But he looked like he was angry.

Something that always puzzled Keres was why someone who had killed his entire clan leave behind one. He had killed his mother and father, cousins and even his best friend. So he obviously had no care nor interest in any of them. So what made his younger brother any different? Did he simply forget to kill the little brat? No. It has to be more then that. And as soon as she figured that out she found people following her around the village. She was being watched because she began to question one of the village's most taboo of topics. And the only reason why they would go out of their way to watch her, was if she was on the right track to the answer.

"You're annoying." Her voice sounded cold as she spoke to the shark.

The shark let out a laugh. "Aren't you the one people say is fuckin crazy?"

Keres caught the sideways glance that Itachi sent in her direction. It was as if he was waiting for her reaction. If anything, this could even be a test. If this was any other case she would have killed someone for speaking to her life that. But in this case she didn't know enough about this blue thing to actually have a fair fight. She could tell that he's obviously very powerful, and because he's apart of the Akatsuki he clearly has some kind of skill that makes him valuable. In this case, it might just be better to let that walking fish dig his own grave. So maybe it's just better to ignore him for now.

The group fell silent once more. And as they walked the rain began to fall. As they walked they had to take a direction that would actually bring them rather close to the Leaf village, or at least close enough that they could potentially run into some of its shinobi. This knowledge set Keres on edge. She had spent four years running away from or even killing some of its shinobi. At this point if they were to run into anyone it would be better to just kill them, there was no use in letting an entire village know that not one, but two of their most wanted were within striking distance.

So as they walked Keres stayed as alert as possible; she listened for the sound of puddles being splashed, or a sway in the branches of a tall tree too powerful to only be the wind. Itachi noticed her change in behavior but didn't say anything as the group continued to walk. At one point on the path they walked there was a merchant traveling in their opposing direction with a cart that was pulled by a mule. As he passed by he looked at the three with mild interest, but something in his eyes told Keres that he knew exactly who they were. And yet... she didn't do anything to stop him from continuing. But something told her it would have been best to kill the man. So she was put even more on edge.

And her suspicions were made true when she heard a branch sway to heavily. In an instant she turned around and whipped a set of three kunai into the branches of a tree to her right. Seconds later a shinobi wearing a standard green flak vest fell gagging from the cut made by the kunai on his neck. Blood spilled out until he lay dead on the ground.

"How the hell did you hear that?" the fish asked sounding rather astonished.

"If you'd shut up we might find out if there's a few more." Keres hissed back.

And that's when she heard two more sets of branches sway and bend from the weight of a human. Keres prepared herself to fight the two waiting silently in the branches.

"We can't have any delays." Itachi spoke, but at the same time giving Keres the go ahead to kill them.

With that in mind, Keres propelled herself forward with her chakra to find herself perched on the branch that the now dead man had fell from. Not even 10 feet away on another branch stood a women with light blonde hair and someone that Keres hadn't expected to see; her old teammate, Chouga.

Chouga had lost much of the weight he had held as a young teen, now he was very much a seasoned shinobi. His shoulder length light brown hair was now pulled back into a ponytail and he dressed in the standard Leaf jounin attire; complete with the green vest and navy blue long sleeved shirt and pants. He carried a slightly larger pack on his hip- clearly still a medic.

The girl standing beside his looked to be slightly younger- or at least young enough that she wasn't a jounin yet. She wore a black long sleeved shirt, and dark red shorts. The way she looked at Keres was as though she was disgusted with her. That alone was enough to make Keres kill the girl.

Taking the opportunity to do so, with inhuman speed her hand flashed to her pack on her hip and she launched a set of five shurikins at the girl. She had no time to react from the time that they had left Keres's hand to the time they embedded themselves into her body; two in her stomach, two in her neck and one in her forehead. She fell to the ground without a word and landed in a heap lying dead on the wet forest ground.

Now Chouga stood alone on the branch, and he had shifted back into a slightly more powerful stance. His blue eyes looked angry and they burned with the goal to kill her. It made Keres want to laugh! She knew all along when they were kids that Chouga hadn't liked her at all. He refused to spar against her. And even when they went on missions, if Keres were ever to get hurt he would refuse to heal her unless their sensei told him to.

"Chouga." She smirked.

"Keres."

"Maybe I should let you live to go back to that village of yours as a warning?" Keres taunted, her voice sounding cold.

"What makes you think you could kill me so easily?" he retorted sharply.

"Was that girl your student?" Keres asked as she stood up and shifted her weight onto her left leg as she pulled her prized dagger from its sheath on her right leg.

"Yes." he choked out.

"Pity. She could have used a better teacher."

"Shut up!" he screamed at Keres. "You don't know anything about me, and you have no right to say anything after the four years you've been gone!"

"Oh- touchy." Keres smirked. "I've changed my mind... I've always wondered what you'd looked like if I were to kill you."

"I won't let you!"

"You were always weak. This should be easy." Keres shifted her weight back evenly so that she could use her chakra boost once more.

But before she could launch herself towards him he threw a cloud of senbon towards her- no doubt poisoned with something. How cute.

Keres put her hands together in a familiar hand seal and threw her head back as she took in a deep breath. "Fire style- fire ball jutsu!"

The blast of fire that spewed from her lungs and her mouth was so hot that it melted the glass senbon in mid air, leaving Chouga speechless.

"How would you like to die?" Keres asked as she watched him trying to come up with some kind of idea on how to fight her. "It's always so much more fun to go the most painful route- but I'm kinda on a time limit."

"Oh yeah? Where the hell would you ever be wanted?" he threw right back at her.

Without giving him the chance to react she flashed forward using her chakra boost, and with her dagger in hand she had him pinned to the tree with the blade pushing into his neck. He gulped when he realized what just happened. With his eyes wide he stood frozen against the tree.

"You were always weak." she sneered at him.

"Go to hell."

She leaned in to whisper in his ear,"Happily."

And then she did it- she pushed the blade into his neck and dragged it over the thin skin of his neck, spilling his dark red blood. His body slumped down and his forehead fell to lay against his knees.

"So long." she said and hopped down from the branch to take her place with the pair that waited for her.

Itachi met her gaze with his onyx eyes. They gleamed with some kind of emotion that Keres couldn't recognize. She couldn't tell if he was impressed or bored with her.

"Old teammate? That's gotta be kinda rough." the fish asked once they began to walk down the path once more.

"He was weak, and he's wanted to kill me since we were kids anyway."She replied.

That was the end of all the conversations for the rest of the day. They ended up camping out in an abandoned cottage in the woods. Itachi had set up genjutsu marked throughout the forest to keep them concealed.

By the time Kisame and Itachi had fallen into at least a semi-conscious sleep Keres finally had the chance to actually look at the older of the two remaining Uchiha. Somewhere deep inside of her she found herself attracted to the danger and darkness surrounding him and his reputation. She had spent enough time reading about the Uchiha and its history to know that something was up about Itachi. Sure in the beginning of her readings she had found it to be utterly amazing that he had the strength to kill off his entire clan all alone. Now that she thought about it, maybe it was that kind of thinking that got her detained? She wanted to laugh at herself.

Nevertheless, Keres found herself interested in the elder Uchiha. She wants to get to know him. She wants to hear what he has to say about his actions. And she's entirely willing to go through the no doubt long and tedious process of earning his trust. She has to be smart about it though. Because there is the undeniable fact that he could probably kill her at will. But there are some risks that she is willing to take to get to know him.

Keres closed her eyes and in the back of her mind the memory of Chouga's frightened eyes surfaced as a reminder of her actions. As much as she hated it, Keres knew that she would never forget killing him.

He was a teammate after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors note:**

**As always, i don't own any of the Naruto characters.**

**I will only claim rights to my own original characters.  
You are not welcome to copying any of my OCs, and if you do want them to appear in one of your stories then please contact me first.**

**Please leave a review! :)**

**Enjoy~**

**26/08/2014**

**(Also, if anyone sees a spelling or grammar error, tell me. Because i don't have a beta reader, and i have a habit of not really editing well :/ )**

* * *

Keres didn't sleep much more than a few hours that night, which probably wasn't a very good thing because it would be a long day she would have to look forward to. During the nights hours she had been quiet and thoughtful. She studied the two Akatsuki and gauged everything she could about them.

The shark creature looked like a creature made for nothing else but fighting and killing. He stood at nearly seven feet tall, and he radiated power. His arms and legs looked strong, and his large hands looked strong enough to crush anything in his grasp. He could probably crush her bones easily, without even thinking twice about that endeavor. His aura wasn't necessarily dark, but it gave off a message to stay away. Even in his sleep he looked like he was just as attentive as he would be awake. The only thing that told Keres that he was indeed asleep was the slower rate at which he breathed.

The mans bandaged sword was laid down beside him. This was something that puzzled Keres, 'why on earth would someone ever bandage a sword?'. It made no sense to her. Unless the sword itself held some sort of ability. The man had been introduced as Kisame Hoshigaki, and although she could not recall hearing the name, she could guess that the name Hoshigaki had originated in the Land of Water, and judging from his headband striking out the symbol of Kirigakure her thoughts were further affirmed.

From her readings back in Konoha she had at one time come in contact with a document that had spoken of the inauguration of the current Mizukage. She had been the one responsible for the drastic change in the way the village was operated. The former name that had been given to the brutal village had been the 'Blood Mist', having been named this because of their insane training methods for their shinobi. Anyone who did not pass their tests were killed on sight. During this time there had been several men and women that had stood out as exceptional in the eyes of the previous Mizukage. They were all incredible killers, and to mark them as special individuals they had each been crafted a sword.

Keres then came to the understanding that this man named Kisame Hoshigaki had at one time been one of these swordsmen of Kirigakure. And the sword he carried somehow aided him in battle, because it was clearly not the type of sword she used to cut down her enemies. No, this was a tool he used to possibly overwhelm or batter his enemies until they dropped dead. It made her curious, she wanted to see what kind of damage it could do. Just what sort of havoc could it cause. The thought was intriguing.

When her gaze traveled over to the other man she was particularly more attentive in her deductions. She had read reports on the massacre, all of which had blamed him for the brutal act. Article after article had reiterated that he was a monster, that he had killed his best friend, another boy named Shisui Uchiha a few weeks before the massacre. But the body of Shisui Uchiha had never been found. The articles had spoken of the time he had spent in the academy, having graduated at the age of 6, and completed his chuunin exam at 10. The very same year he had been given the rank of jounin, and then at the age of 12 he had become an ANBU captain. It was all incredibly impressive.

During her time in the archives she had spent several days and even weeks at a time just coming up with questions and attempting to answer them. But the one question she always came back to was "why?"- why do something that seemed so out of character? ANBU is known to take on dirty missions; they could range between simple assassination to coverups. Coverups, that was something ANBU did well. Keres had seen her fair share of ANBU, both as a shinobi of the Leaf and as a missing-nin.

As a shinobi of the Leaf, she could recall several occasions when she had been followed in her day to day activities. Or a particular occasion when she had been training and Chouga had made some sort of comment about how she should consider herself lucky to be allowed in the village, because her parents were missing-nin and her clan was filled with mercenaries and dirty shinobi. He had said she and her people were poor excuses for shinobi and that all of them should be put into the Bingo book or killed on sight. Of course this had made Keres furious.

She had screamed profanities and curses at him in an uncontrollable rage. She was prepared to fight him, and with the intent to kill him. They had been alone one moment and then next Keres found herself pinned to the ground as a squad of five ANBU shinobi had her restrained and promptly put under a genjutsu.

It made her feel like the world was against her in that moment. She hadn't even had the chance to summon up a fireball to blow at her annoying teammate before she had been slammed into the ground with such force that it had pulled all the air from lungs. She hadn't even done anything wrong...yet - she was just going to defend her people, she was just going to defend the memory of her parents. She'd be dead before she saw the day that her clan name was degraded. She would make Chouga fear her.

She found herself detained in the ANBU special prison for almost a week. When she was there they had her wrists bound, and some Hyuuga ANBU had put a temporary block in her chakra system. She had been spoken to by Ibiki and a Yamanaka, and then even the Third Hokage had gone to speak to her. The elderly leader had demanded that she have her restraints removed and promptly released from ANBU's custody. Keres could recall how the Hokage had been a firm man, he spoke to her with authority and she had answered by giving him her respects.

The Hokage had explained to her that she had become too involved with the inner details of the village. He had explained that it was not her place to know certain things, that the most she was responsible for would be the missions she was assigned. Keres had remained respectfully defiant the entire time, she had asked "Why all the secrecy?", why was it that so many people were kept in the dark? Why was it so difficult to deduce the truth?

The only answer she had received was a look in the Hokage's eyes, that to this day, Keres was still frightened by it. He looked like he knew something, like he knew exactly the way her mind was working. Like he knew that she wasn't some deranged woman with a temper, and bloody power. Somehow, the Hokage had seen and understood, that her mind wasn't just focused in the present-no, she was someone who needed the whole story. She needed to know the truth, be it through peaceful or violent means. He knew then and there, that her level of understanding and intelligence was far above the level that her peers and officials had given her credit for. She was so much more than a sharp weapon, she was an intelligent weapon- and that made her deadly. It's a dangerous thing for someone to understand a person like this, and the Hokage had seen all this in her, and it scared Keres to no end.

Keres was released the same day that the Hokage had visited her. She was collected by her sensei and together they left the ANBU building. Hirokaza didn't try to apologize on behalf of Chouga. He didn't even mention her teammate at all. Instead he offered to take her out for dinner- it was then that she realized that she hadn't eaten much more than a few mouthfuls in the past week. Together they had eaten in comfortable silence and simply enjoyed each others company. By the end of the night she had yet to say a word, but the only thing she said before she returned home would become a warning that Chouga would never heed.

"If Chouga ever comes near me again, I'll kill him. Tell him that, he gets one warning." then she left her sensei and returned back to her apartment.

The point is that Keres knew exactly how corrupted and easily influenced people in the governing positions of the village could be. So what was stopping them from trying to hide any truths behind the Uchiha massacre? The answer- absolutely nothing.

Itachi was a reportedly strait forward and competent individual. He preformed his skills at an incredibly high caliber. And no one had questioned his authority as a ninja. There had been no reason for him to turn on his clan in such a violent but yet- iconic matter...

Keres had therefore come to deduce a couple different reasons as to why the massacre had occurred. One being that Itachi is actually completely mad, and he really just wanted to kill them all for some mundane reason. Or second, the village elders ordered him to kill them all as a sort of ANBU mission.

But if it were to be the second instance then there would have to be a reason why the village would suddenly want to exterminate one of the strongest clans in the entire Leaf village. The Sharingan is after all, one of the most coveted of kekkei genkai in the five great shinobi nations. The answer that Keres could see was that there had to still be some sort of bad blood between the Uchiha and the Leaf.

And the best guess as to why there was some sort of disagreement lied in the past leadership of the village. The second Hokage was the one responsible for pushing the Uchiha clan into a single district where they were no doubt monitored 24/7.

But it all came back to the simple question of - why?

Keres would not be able to answer that question without the help of one of the elders, or the culprit himself. Many a time, Keres had asked herself why she was so obsessed with finding out the answer to the ominous 'why', and even though it had taken her four years of being a missing-nin, she discovered it was because she craved the truth, and the complexity of this single man named Itachi Uchiha was intriguing.

She watched the steady slow rise and fall of Itachi's chest. He was no doubt in a suspended level of sleep. He could wake at the simplest sound or shift in the air. This was the first time she'd been able to actually look at him. Not like glancing at a photo or having to look at him during a conversation or in passing. She was finally able to take in everything that made him him.

His skin was a lighter shade of tan compared to hers and he stood a couple inches taller than herself. His long raven hair was tied in a low ponytail at the nape of his neck and flowed down to about his waist. His fingers were long and bony. And his stature was rather slim- but Keres was sure that if she was to get closer she would have been able to see his collarbones protruding sharply. When she looked to his face she noticed the lines of stress that had been etched deeply into his skin below his eyes. And the deep purple that had developed under his eyes from lack of sleep. But his face was undeniably handsome. His sharp patrician nose and high cheekbones and his thin lips were beautiful. His long eyelashes dusted his cheekbones elegantly.

Such beauty...

Then Keres turned her thoughts back upon the Leaf village. When Keres had aptly been taken into custody by the village ANBU the entire event had occurred when she was seventeen, almost a year before she left the village. For the following year the only people she came in contact with were her sensei, the Hokage and on occasion her other teammate Takeo. She spent her time divided between missions, training, and reading. She delved deeper, and gained even more knowledge about the village.

Her relationship with Takeo had always been strange. At first it had seemed like as genin he had genuinely wanted to be her friend. Then as chuunin when their team had gone on an extended mission to Suna, they had been out in the field for almost a month, and wouldn't be returning home for another month as well. Konoha was aiding Suna in taking out a rogue force of shinobi. Keres, Takeo and Chouga were out in the field trying to work on getting some intel on the rogues when they were ambushed.

Unexpectedly, Takeo had pushed Keres out of the way and taken a powerful blow that had rendered him useless the rest of the battle. Chouga had set to work in healing Takeo, leaving Keres to battle the rest of the rogues. There were seven in the beginning, and in the end, seven were lying on their backs unconscious or otherwise dead. By the time Chouga had healed Takeo, Keres was on her last legs. She had exhausted her chakra and bled profusely from a kunai that had embedded itself deep in her chest. She coughed up blood, and before Takeo could move to her aid, she had collapsed and fallen unconscious.

When Takeo had demanded that Chouga heal his teammate, because even he could see that Keres was in serious condition, Chouga had refused. So Takeo, even with basic knowledge and not nearly enough chakra control as a medic should have, he attempted to heal Keres. All the while Chouga watched and did nothing. By the time their sensei had found them, Keres was hardly stabilized and on the verge of death. While Takeo was verging on exhausting his chakra as he tried his damn hardest to heal his teammate. But Chouga had retreated to the side of the clearing to be alone.

Keres never asked Takeo why he had first tried to protect her, and then save her life. At some point during her final year in the village, Takeo had begun to sit with her in the archive building and read with her. When she had looked to see his choice of topic she was surprised to see he was studying medical ninjutsu. Hirokaza later told Keres that Takeo wanted to protect her, even though he knew that she didn't need protection, he still felt it was his duty. The point was that he cared about her.

Hirokaza never told Keres if he ever said a word to Chouga about his reluctance to help a teammate, but one day when Keres was passing by a training ground as she headed to her own, she had overheard the voice of Takeo yelling at Chouga.

"Why wouldn't you heal her! She's your teammate dammit! I don't care if you don't like her, she fought damn hard to give you the time you needed to heal me!" Takeo yelled.

Keres couldn't see them because they stood on the opposite side of a thick hedge. Neither of them had noticed her presence or heard her footsteps.

"She's dangerous, she'd kill you the first chance she got!" fired back Chouga.

"Then why in the hell did she fight to protect us? If she didn't care then she would've just left us. She would have no reason to fight as hard as she did!"

There was a thump, and Keres could guess that Takeo had punched Chouga.

"Why do you even like her?" shot back Chouga, "She's a crazy bitch, even the Hokage knows this. Why do you think they hardly let her out of the village? Haven't you noticed the ANBU? They're not there to watch us, they're there because she's a time bomb. She could explode any moment, and I don't want to be caught in the blast. It'd be better if she just died."

"She's alone, completely alone. No family. Nothing. The only people she's got are you, me, and Sensei. You're her teammate and if you don't fucking act like it, then I'll speak to the Hokage to have you removed from this squad." Takeo's voice was firm and deep.

Keres didn't stick around to hear anymore. She didn't care what Chouga did. The only person that really mattered to her was her sensei. But it had surprised her to hear Takeo speak on her behalf. She didn't think that he had cared all that much about her...

At some point after that when she had spent an afternoon training, during a break she had sat down beside her sensei to have lunch and she'd asked him "What does Takeo think of me?". Her sensei had been mildly surprised by the question, because Keres had never shown much interest in her teammates, and for that matter- she'd never shown an interest in boys either. But none the less he had heeded her question by answering it truthfully.

"He cares deeply about you."

It was a simple enough answer, and at the time it had sated her curiosity.

Takeo ended up taking the time to train with Keres, or at least be close to her when he trained on his own. A few months later he ended up getting an offer to join ANBU. He took it of course, and then Keres didn't see much of him anymore. They'd never really talked all that much anyway- but his company was greatly appreciated.

The day that Keres had left the village Takeo had asked her to dinner; she had declined, having already packed and made the plan to leave that very night. Even as Keres sat against the wall of the cabin in the dark of the night she could recall the way her teammate had faltered slightly at her answer. He looked a little lost for a moment, like he hadn't really planned on her saying no. But then he scratched the back of his neck and smiled lightly at her. And then optimistically said "Maybe another time?". But there would never be another time.

After Keres's mind had drifted between gauging her two guides and running through memories of her past home she had finally succumbed to sleep. Her sleep was soundless, and without dreams that night. The next time she opened her eyes she looked out the glass window just off to her right to see the sun just beginning to peak over the horizon. The sky was grey once more.

It wasn't long until the two men stirred and awoke on their own. They all ate from their personal rations and prepared to set out for the day. There wasn't much talking being done, and if anyone did talk it was the shark. He made comments about little things; like how much he hated the heat and humidity of fire country, or the way it sucked having to camp out in the rain.

Keres remained attentive as they walked at a brisk pace. There was no hurry to make it to the Akatsuki base, but the sooner she got there, the sooner she could start making some money. She was running low on funds from her work as a mercenary. She needed to pick up some more rations soon, and she could do with a new cloak as well. Work as a missing-nin was sometimes difficult, and at times it was annoying to have her name in the Bingo Book.

During her travels there were a few encounters with hunter-nin. They just wanted the bounty on her head, and because she was known to be s-ranked only the best would go after her. There had been a few nights that she'd spent bleeding out and alone. It was a wonder to even herself how she had managed to get through a few fights and survive from her injuries. She was good, but it was a challenge for anyone to be outnumbered and limited to close to midrange jutsu.

"Hey Missy," started the shark "you don't have to answer this, but; why'd you leave your village?"

Itachi's crimson eyes flashed briefly towards Keres in mild interest. The trio continued to walk as the rain fell steadily. Keres thought for a moment that she wouldn't answer, and just ignore it. But she saw no reason to lie or to hide her reason either. Plus, it was bound to get Itachi thinking. And Keres wanted to understand how his mind worked.

"Well..." her gaze fell on Itachi. "I left because I asked too many questions."

He knew exactly what she was implying. His stoic expression didn't change, but his eyes glinted with curiosity. Keres had managed to gain his attention.

"You're a cryptic one." chuckled the shark.

That was the last anyone said before they reached their final destination that night. They would be camping in the forest that night. None were all that happy about sleeping on the wet ground, but they made do regardless. Kisame had gone off somewhere in the forest, probably to train. Keres had set to work in building the fire. And Itachi had probably disappeared to set up a genjutsu barrier. By the time he returned to their camp, Keres had the fire roaring and sat close to it trying to soak in the heat. It was going to be a cold night.

At first Itachi had simply watched Keres with crimson eyes. She couldn't see if he was trying to find an answer to something just by looking at her, or if he wasn't even looking at her but past her and into the forest.

"You don't wear a hitai-ite?" he spoke at last.

It was true she didn't wear it. But she carried it in her pack as a reminder of the village. She held no sentimental ties to the village, in fact she didn't really care all that much about it. It was only two people that she cared about...

"I wasn't born in that village, and I hold no allegiances to the officials or the Hokage..." she answered without glancing towards the Uchiha, but rather stared into the flames of the fire. "There is no need for me to identify myself as a ninja of Konoha."

"But you did learn ninjutsu and such as a student of Konoha." he pressed.

"I was never accepted as one of them. I was never really anything more than a tool they used occasionally and detained otherwise." her eyes remained fixed to the dancing flames. "Why do you wear yours?"

"As a reminder." he spoke flatly.

Keres drew her eyes away from the captivating flame and looked to the Uchiha sitting to her left against a tree. The light from the fire made him look older, and tired. But the light made his skin glow warmly. Keres found herself caught; the fire was indeed beautiful to watch, but she knew she could look at him at that moment for hours on end.

"Of your past actions, or for your little brother?"

Itachi stiffened, she had managed to set him on edge once more. This was twice in one day, and it made Keres feel accomplished. She was learning just what type of person he was under that calm facade. And she wanted to see just how she could push him at that moment.

"Y'know I used to see him around the village occasionally. People said that he was the best of his age group. He's made a name for himself as some sort of avenger... I guess that means that he'll be coming after you sooner or later." Keres was challenging him to say something. "If I remember he kept someone close to him. Some girl, a little one with white hair. Tell me Itachi, how did you get that Mangekyoo sharingan of yours?"

He took the bait, and Keres watched mesmerized as the three tomoe sharingan swirled and became the bladed black and red mangekyoo sharingan. It was a warning to shut the hell up. Keres knew she was dancing on thin ice. But why stop now?

"I left because it was either live as a caged animal or go and get my answers. Besides, I suspect the officials would have had me killed sooner or later..." she pulled her gaze away from Itachi and returned it to the flames before her. "They wouldn't want anyone knowing too much of the truth anyways... its dangerous to have an intelligent weapon."

.0.0.

Two days passed and the trio were inside the borders to the Land of Rain. And true to its name it was in a state of downpour. The sky was dark grey during the day and black at night. All the while the heavy clouds cried their tears endlessly.

Keres had been left with the sinking feeling that she had pushed the boundary between her and Itachi a little too far two nights ago. Perhaps she had been a little too bold in her statements. She still didn't know anything about the way he thought and understood things. She didn't know just what type of person he really was under all the conspiracy and rumors that surrounded him. But Keres was sure that she'd end up seeing more of him sooner or later. They would be working together after all.

Kisame and Itachi led Keres through the streets of Amegakure. Every building had some sort of elaborate series of eavesdrops that acted as drainage to the central river that flowed through the village. The people seemed hushed and quiet. The only sound was the endless pitter-patter of rain hitting metal rooftops.

As Keres looked around she noticed a reoccurring theme of angels that decorated shops and windowsills. Perhaps it was some sort of superstition? Or a local god or saint that the villagers all paid respects to? Regardless, they walked in silence until they reached the tallest building that must've been situated right at the center of the village. When Keres looked up to see the full height of the massive building she saw a face. And sitting atop its extended tongue looked to be another member of the Akatsuki. Even from where she stood on the ground she could see the bright orange hair of the individual. He looked like he was some kind of watchful protector for the village.

From what Keres had heard about the Akatsuki during her travels, she knew that they were an organization of s-class criminals, and missing-nin. They were the biggest big bads that anyone could possibly think of. That's why it didn't matter if she was actually apart of the inner circle. Just being apart of the organization would give her connections and her name would eventually spread and become as feared as some of their most pristine members. If anyone was a missing-nin like she was, they would want to be apart of the Akatsuki.

Kisame led the way to a giant metal door, where he placed his hand upon it, no doubt channeling chakra into the metal, and it opened. Inside was a simple hallway lit by a few lamps. At the very end of it looked to be an elevator. Keres followed Itachi as they all got into the elevator. Kisame got out at what must've been the second floor without a word, and at the next stop Itachi motioned from Keres to follow him.

The hallway was bleak, a sort of light grey. But at the end of the hallway a common room with three black leather couches, and several lounge chairs were positioned throughout the room. The floor was a brilliant redwood, no doubt extremely expensive. Large windows showcased the rooftops of the village and the dark landscape. Just to the left of the room, a giant redwood door was closed. That was probably the office to the leader of the Akatsuki, the man named Pein.

"Leader will be with you shortly." he spoke with his usual velvet voice.

Then Itachi turned and prepared to make his way back down the bleak hallway and to the elevator. Keres wasn't willing to say goodbye just yet.

"See you around Uchiha."

Itachi paused in his step, only briefly but it was noticeable nonetheless. He didn't look back, but Keres was sure she'd left a lasting impression. When he entered the elevator and the doors closed behind him Keres was left alone in the common room.

She sat there patiently for some time, content with simply looking out over the village. During her time as a ninja of Konoha she'd only ever briefly passed through the outskirts of Ame. She'd never seen the village, and before now had never had a reason to enter the village. There was a dark beauty to the village, with its mechanics and metal exterior. But the village gave her the sense that she would always have to watch her back.

"You may see Pein now." a feminine voice behind Keres spoke.

She hadn't even heard the woman enter the room. But when Keres turned around she found the giant wooden door ajar, so she assumed that the blur haired woman before her had come from inside. The woman before he looked like a powerful kunoichi. She'd styled her hair in a bun atop her head, and an elegant paper flower was used as an ornament. She wore a piercing just under her lowerlip. And her heavy Akatsuki cloak was completely zipped up, making it so that the only personal thing Keres could see about the woman in front of her was her wedged shinobi boots that made her stand taller than Keres.

Keres nodded, and walked past the woman to open the wooden door and enter into the dimly lit room. Inside she could see a massive redwood desk. And sitting right behind it was the man with bright orange hair; the same man she had seen before she had entered into the building. Seven black piercing's were pushed through his nose, and his ears were just as extravagantly pierced. But what struck Keres especially of all were the purple ringed eyes of the rinnegan that stared at her. She'd only ever read about this rare doujutsu, it was said to be even more powerful than the sharingan. This man must have the strength of legend...

Behind her, the woman from before had also entered the room. She walked over to the man at the desk and stood beside him.

"I am Pein, the leader of Akatsuki and protector of this village." his voice boomed, "my second in command is Konan."

The woman identified as Konan dipped her head slightly to acknowledge the introduction.

"Keres Lotus, missing-nin of Konohagakure, and mercenary; I have called you here because I believe that you would be suited as a supporting member of Akatsuki. You will be paid exceptionally well, and your job will be to aid any of the inner members in their missions as they see fit. You are simply extra strength, and will help us obtain our goal."

Keres took a seat on one of the chairs that was situated before the massive desk, and crossed her leg over her opposite knee. And was sure to keep eye contact with the man in front of her.

"What exactly is this goal?" she inquired.

"Does it really matter?"

Keres supposed it didn't. As long as she was getting paid it was good enough. "No, it doesn't."

Pein nodded. "Whatever you do in your personal time is your own business. As long as you complete your missions and to a satisfactory level you will continue to be employed. Tomorrow you leave on a mission with Deidara and Sasori to the Land of Lightning. Konan will show you to your suite."

Pein opened a drawer to his right, and he pulled out a black box. He opened it and it held a simple silver band. There was nothing that marked it. It was now that Keres noticed the ring that Pein and Konan wore. And now that she thought of it, even Itachi and Kisane had worn a ring.

"This is a transmitter, it will allow myself to contact you at any point in time. Wear it, and do not remove it." he pushed the box towards Keres.

She studied it for a moment, noting that the ring looked too big for her. But as she reached for the ring and pulled it over her left ring finger and watched as it resized itself to fit her perfectly. By the time she'd looked back to Pein he had pulled out another small sack and pushed it towards her.

"This is your starting paycheck. You may leave now."

Keres dipped her head respectfully, and rook the small but heavy sack off the desk as she turned to follow Konan out of the office. She was then led through the common room and down the hallway back to the elevator. Once there Konan pressed the 5 button, and the elevator shifted down.

"Each member has their own private suite, there is a common kitchen and common area." Konan explained as they stepped out of the elevator once the doors opened. "You're free to roam as you wish. However, any fighting between members is to be done outside. Any damage to the building will be taken out of your pay."

They passed the common room, and a kitchen. Then another hallway that extended left and right divided the building. When Keres looked right she saw ten doors, five on either side with a kanji symbol above each. No doubt for each of the inner members of the organization. To the left, the hallway had several more unmarked doors. Konan led her to the third one to the left.

"The doors are chakra sealed."

Keres took the gained knowledge and put it to work by pressing her hand to the cold exterior of the wooden door. She pushed her chakra through her hand and into the door. It then unlocked and opened. Then above the door an engraving of her clans insignia the lotus flower, appeared to be carved out.

"You leave tomorrow at noon. Deidara and Sasori have been notified and will meet you on the ground floor."

"Thank you." Keres gave her respects.

Konan nodded.

The blue haired woman then turned and left Keres to her suite. Keres took a moment to look at the engraving above her door once more, and then pushed the wooden door in to reveal her suite. Once she stepped inside she close the door behind her to hear it lock. Looking around the room she found that there was a giant four posted bed pushed to the right of the room. Two bedside tables, one on either side of the bed. A redwood dressed with a mirror and a door that lead to what was probably the bathroom. And finally a redwood desk was pushed against the wall to the left, with a black chair. Just like the common room before, a giant window acted as a frame to the picture of the village. And dark maroon curtains could be pulled to cover the window.

Turning back to the desk, Keres set to work in unpacking her supplies to decide on how much she would need to buy before her mission tomorrow.

The backpack was in good enough condition; then she pulled out her bedroll, two ration bars, food pills, water canteen, black closed toe shinobi boots, a pair of lycra black leggings and long sleeved shirt, med kit, and a scroll that had her ninja tools and weapons sealed inside.

Keres removed the black cloak she wore and noted it was getting ratty, and frayed. It no longer held any warmth, and the rain would sink through it effortlessly. She would have to go into the village to buy a new one. Then she turned her attention to the med kit, noting it needed more bandages and disinfectant. Her extra set of clothes were still in good condition. But the leggings she currently wore were ripped by kunai and needed replacing. Her tank top and bandaged wrapped around her waist were fine, and the shorts she wore over her leggings were still fine as well. Her vest was starting to become worn out, but it would suffice.

As for her weapons; she opened the scroll and laid out her kunai, senbon, ninja stars and extra daggers. She could do with a few more kunai. She preferred not to work with senbon so the amount she had was fine. Her supply of ninja starts was also to her satisfaction. And the daggers were in fine condition.

Keres decided that she would also look for some extra blank scrolls. She would attempt to seal her other gear into the scrolls so it made it easier for her to travel.

So she made her list, which included; rations, bandages, disinfectant, a cloak, leggings, kunai, and blank scrolls. She then counted her own funds, and then proceeded to open the sac that held her first paycheck. She was surprised that she'd been paid so heavily. After all Pein had said that she would be paid especially well, but she hadn't expected the pay to equal that of an A-rank mission in Konoha. She would have more than enough money to pick up everything she needed, if anything she could replace everything and still have more than enough for the entire mission and the rest of the month. Or perhaps after living as a missing-nin for so long she'd just gotten used to living on next to nothing?

Keres added her own funds to the sack and then pocketed it inside her cloak. She pulled her cloak back onto her shoulders and fastened the clip just at the base of her neck. Then she turned to exit the suite. When she entered the hallway she made sure that the door was completely closed, and then walked the hallway until she found herself in the common kitchen.

The building seemed eerily quiet as she moved around, but she was sure to keep her senses extended for any sounds or movement. Inside the kitchen she checked the cabinets and found them completely stocked of food. She guess then than this would suffice as her source for rations. She left the kitchen then, and walked through the common room and noticed another door to the right of the room. Curious, she walked towards it to look inside. She found a decently sized med-bay, there she could no doubt find any bandages and whatever disinfectant she would need.

She then went to walk back to the elevator, and wait as the machine made its way to the fifth floor to carry her back down to the ground level. When the doors opened she was surprised to see someone just stepping out. A man with hair so blonde it looked silver, slicked back over his head. And pink eyes stared at her. He was shirtless, and his Akatsuki cloak was ripped so that it only covered one shoulder. He carried a scythe behind his back. And the way he looked at Keres made her want to punch him in the face.

"New meat!" he cawed as he stepped out of the elevator. "But why the fuck did it have to be another bitch, one's enough."

First impressions were always important, and Keres knew right away that this guy was the type that she would kill without a second regret.

"Get the fuck out of the way." she spoke darkly, and pushed her way past the man to get into the elevator before she did anything she might regret later.

"Stupid bitch! Who the fuck do you think you're talking to! I am a priest of Jashin! You heathen, I'll teach you to respect your superiors!" he basically screamed as the doors closed.

Keres was left alone in the elevator mildly disturbed by the events that just happened. She hadn't been given a cloak with the red clouds on it. So she wasn't a prime member. But somehow that asshole was. So he was obviously skilled. But his loud mouth would get him killed someday. And if Keres was the one to kill the psycho she'd be content with carving up his arrogant face with her dagger.

When the elevator came to a stop she did her best to push the memory of the crazed man out of her thoughts. She spent the remainder of the afternoon getting accustomed to the village, and shopping for what she needed. Once she was done, she found a tavern and had a couple of drinks. She returned that night happy to gather the supplies she needed, and then to fall sleep in a bed for the first time in months.

Keres had lived a day-to-day life for the past four years. And for once she knew exactly what was going to happen. She was content with the actions she had taken. But she knew that this is only the beginning.


End file.
